Balfour Beatty appointed preferred bidder for Oldham Building Schools for the Future project

Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, announced that it has been appointed as preferred bidder by Oldham Council for their Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, which is worth up to £175 million.

This BSF Programme involves the delivery of new buildings and upgrades to eight of the Borough’s schools, a pupil referral unit and the construction of a new school in Chadderton. The initial phase of construction, which will commence in January 2011, will involve the delivery of the new-build Oldham Roman Catholic School at its new site and the partial rebuild and remodelling of North Chadderton School. Upgrades, expansions and new buildings for the other schools will commence between 2012 and 2014, with all construction work completed by 2015.

All construction and facilities management will be carried out by Balfour Beatty. ICT services across all the schools will be delivered in conjunction with Northgate, a leading provider of ICT educational solutions.

Commenting today Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Ian Tyler, said:

“We are delighted to have been awarded preferred bidder status for Oldham Council’s BSF scheme. We look forward to developing a Local Education Partnership with the Council and Partnerships for Schools to deliver excellent design and value for all schools in the programme, as well as maximising the economic benefit to the Borough.”

Balfour Beatty will invest equity of £3.2 million into the delivery of the first sample school, Oldham Roman Catholic School,